Casket



March 28, 1961 J. s. OVERLAND EFAL 2,976,599

CASKET Filed April 10, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 r. MI

H I INVENTORS Jo/m 5. Over/and BY .fames 77 H/// fi6.2 '9 I Arro 6Y5March 28, 1961 J. s. OVERLAND ETAL 2,97 ,599

CASKET Filed April 10, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J I E IN V EN TORS Jab/1 5.Over/and States Unite CASKET Filed Apr. 10, 1959, Ser. No. 805,510

Claims. (Cl. 27-17) This invention relates to a casket of the typehaving separate cover or top lid sections for the head and foot portionsthereof, and more particularly to constructions for perfecting a.hermetic seal for such a casket.

Caskets having separate top lid sections, individually hinged to permitindependent opening and closing thereof, are generally provided with agasket or other sealing means extending around the upper margin of thebody of the casket and engageable' by the top lid sections when closed.Additional transverse sealing means, in the form of a gasket carriedeither by one of the top lid sections or by a transverse bridge on thecasket body, is generally provided to effect a seal between the adjacentends of the top lid sections. The marginal and transverse sealing meansserve to hermetically seal the casket, with the top lid sections beingdrawn down and held tightly against the sealing means by suitable clampsor latches.

An object of this invention is the provision in a casket having separatehinged covers or top lid sections of a novel and improved constructionwhereby the closure or sealing of the casket can be accomplishedeconomically and effectively, and including hinge means adapted to shiftone or both of the lid sections, upon the closing thereof,longitudinally of the casket and into compressing engagement with atransverse gasket.

It is another object of this invention to provide a casket having twoseparate lid sections for individually closing the head and footportions of the casket body, the lid sections having inner end plates orfillets extending transversely of the casket body and adjacent oneanother when closed, and wherein a transverse gasket member is carriedby one of those end plates, and the lid sections embody cam means in thehinges thereof by which the lid sections are moved longitudinally of thecasket upon their being closed so that the transverse gasket is clampedin a horizontal direction between the end plates, thereby forming atight seal which is relatively independent of clamping forces applied bydraw down and retaining means acting to hold the top lid sections insealing engagement with the marginal sealing means extending around theupper edge of the casket body.

As a further object this invention aims to provide in a casket of theabove described character simple and economical cooperating means,carried by the top lid sections and by the casket body at the front sidethereof, for drawing the lid sections into tight sealing engagement withthe marginal sealing means and with the transverse sealing means, thecooperating means being in the form of studs having conical depressionsand locking bolt or screw elements having complementary conicalprojections, the screw elements being arranged to advance the conicalprojections into wedging engagement with the depressions in the studs,thereby affording a quick and ther and additional objects and advantageswill become apparent from the following detailed description of ainvention with the top section or lid at the head end of the casket inraised or open position while the top section or lid at the foot end ofthe casket is in closed position,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end view of a hinge element.

of the sealing structure taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the hinge structure shown in Fig. 2 taken alongline 3-3 thereof,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary front view of the casket ShOWe ing thelongitudinal displacement of the top section or lidat the head end ofthe casket when in a raised position,

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the decreaseddisplacement of the top section or lid when lowered to a positionbetween its open and closed positions,

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Figs. 4 and 5 but showing both top sectionsinfully closed positions with the transverse gasket clampedtherebetween,

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 4. but illustrates the displacement ofboth the head and foot top sections,

when in open position,

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 but with thehead and foot topsectionspartially closed,

Fig. 9.. is a view following the sequence of Figs. -7 and 8, showing thehead and'foot sections fully closed,

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view of a locking bolt and a studelement of the sealing structure in a; position before closing of a topsection and taken along a line substantially the same as 12512 of Fig.1,

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10 but showing the locsing bolt andstud in a partially engaged condition, an

Fig. 12 is a View of. the locking bolt and stud in a Igully 1closedposition and taken along line 1212 of;

The casket 10 has a body portion 11 which may be of any of the usualconstructions having a front wall 12, a back wall 13, and end walls, theupper edges of which have mounted thereon a marginal sealing means whichmay be in the form of a compressible gasket 14.

A hinged top section or lid 15 is provided at the head end of the casket1t and a similar hinged top section or lid 16 is provided at the footend of the casket, each of which may be opened and closed independentlyof the other.

Between the top sections or lids 15 and 16 there is provided atransverse sealing means or' gasket 17 for effecting a seal when both ofthe top sections are closed, the gasket 17 being compressed between thetop sections or lids through the action of hinges 19 by which the topsections are secured to the rear wall 13 of the casket as seen in Fig.l. The construction of the hinges 119, later described in detail,provides a shifting or lateral motion of the top sections 15 and 16during opening or closing thereof, thereby permitting the transversesealing gasket 17 to be supported by one lid and to be horizontallyengageable by the other lid. 7 i i The casket it} is further provided,as a part of its novel sealing arrangement, with simple and eff cientPatented i. 23,1961,

elements or studs 23 located on the upper edge of the front wall 12 ofthe casket body 11.

The hinges 19, which impart a lateral or shifting motion to the topsections upon opening and closing thereof, and which are best seen inFigs. 2 and 3, comprise a tubular portion or elongated eye 25 presentedby a mounting pad or butt plate 26. The plate 26 is suitably secured tothe upper edge of the back wall 13 as by welding or the like, with thelong axis of the tubualr eye 25 extending longitudinally of the casket10. The tubular eye 25 is provided with a cam slot 28 inthe wallthereof, the long dimension of the slot being disposed at an angle tothe axis of the eye 25.

A hinge pin means or pintle 29 is slidably and rotatably received in theelongated eye 25 and is provided with an arm in the form of a threadedpin or stud 30 extending therefrom normal to the long axis of the hingepin or pintle and through the angularly disposed cam slot 28. The hingepin 29 is secured to the top section or lid such as 15 by clamping nuts31, 32 on the threaded stud or pin 30. The hole into which the pin 30 isinserted into the top section is advantageously sealed with rubberwashers or gaskets 33 between the clamping nuts 31, 32 and the topsection.

Each of the hinges 19 serving the top section 15 have their cam slots 28so disposed that upon the closing of the top section, rotating the hingepin 29 about its axis, the stud 30 will be constrained to follow the camslot 28, shifting the hinge pin 29 to its dotted line position of Fig.3. The hinge pin will carry with it the top section 15 into its dottedline position of Fig. 3, and into horizontal sealing engagement with thetransverse gasket 17.

The gasket 17, just mentioned, may conveniently be of the split type andis carried by an inner end plate or fillet 35 of the top section 16serving the foot end of the casket 10. A similar inner end plate orfillet 36 is provided on the top section 15 and it is this portion ofthe section 15 which when closed is adjacent the section 16 and incompressing engagement with the gasket 17. Obviously the gasket 17 couldalso be carried by the top section serving the head end of the casket,or a gasket could be carried on each top section, thereby aifording arubber to rubber transverse seal. It will be noted here that thetransverse gasket 17 is adapted to be contacted by a surface lying in asingle plane, thereby avoiding the unnecessary complications ofattempting to seal along the irregular path described by the downwardlyfacing surfaces'37 of the inner end plates 35 and 36.

The nature of the motion of one or both of the top sections or lids 15and 16 upon closing is illustrated in Figs. 4 through 9. As indicated bythe distance 40 in Fig. 4, 41 in Fig. 5, and 42 in Fig. 6, the topsection 15 is shifted laterally upon the closing thereof to bring itinto sealing engagement with the gasket 17 in a single plane and withoutdanger of displacing or disrupting the gasket 17. Likewise, as indicatedby the distances 5%, 51, and 52 in Figs. 7, 8, and 9, the top section 16at the foot portion of the casket 10 will be shifted longitudinally ofthe casket by reason of the cam slots 28 of the hinges 19 serving thatsection being disposed at an angle opposite to those of the hingessupporting the section 15. Thus either or both of the hinged topsections may be selectively opened without special attention to thetransverse gasket 17.

The top sections or lids 15 and 16 when closed may be locked or doggedin that position by means of the locking bolts 22 and the studs 23, asillustrated in Figs. 10, 11, and 12. The studs 23 are secured in anupright position along the edge of the front wall 12 by nuts 54 and areadapted to be received through openings 55 in the lower front edges ofthe top sections. Each stud 23 is provided with a conical depression 56opening to the front of the casket 10.

The locking screws 22 are threadedly received by the top sections 15 and16 and are each provided with a conical projection 57, complementary tothe depressions 56 in the studs 23. As may be seen from Fig. 10, thescrew 22 is not by the normal weight of the top section 15 axiallyaligned with the conical depression 56, how ever upon inward advancementof the screw 22, the conical projection 57 will enter into wedgingengagement with the depression as shown in Fig. 11. Continuedadvancement of the locking bolt or screw 22 will draw the top section 15down into a tight sealing engagement with the marginal gasket 14 asshown in Fig. 12. The screw 22 is advantageously provided with ashouldered head 59 and an O-ring or other sealing washer 60, the washer60 being adapted to be deformed by the head 59 against the top section15, or 16, and to create a seal therebetween. 7

When drawn down and secured or clamped as shown in Fig. 12, the topsections 15 and 16 tightly engage the marginal sealing means or gasket14 and the transverse gasket 17 between the sections, thereby effectinga complete and hermetic seal, the casket 10 however, being capable ofbeing opened and closed at the head or foot thereof selectively withoutfurther consideration of the transverse seal 17.

The casket of this invention will be seen from the foregoing detaileddescription to be of novel and effective construction, offering certainadvantages in case and flexibility in use through the provision, incombination,

of the cam action hinges 19 and the simple but effective laterallyengaged transverse seal 17, together with the cooperating conical screwelements 22 and studs 23 by i which the top sections are drawn into andsecured in their closed and sealed positions.

Although the casket of this invention has been described with referenceto a specific embodiment and in considerable detail, it is understoodthat the invention is not to be limited thereby but rather the inventionincludes such changes and modifications as are embraced by the scope ofthe claims appended hereto. Having described our invention, we claim: 1.In a casket of the type having a body, separate top lid sectionsconnected by hinge means to said body at the rear longitudinal sidethereof and covering when closed the head and foot portions of saidbody,- sealing means extending around the upper marginal edges of saidbody and engageable by said lid sections when closed and cooperatingclamping means carried by said top lid sections and by said body at thefront side thereof for drawing said lid sections into tight sealingengagement with said sealing means and into lateral engagement with oneanother; a transverse seal extending between the adjacent ends of saidlid sections when closed and comprising an end plate on the adjacent endof each of said lid sections and extending transversely of said body, asealing gasket carried by one of said end plates and laterallyengageable by the other of said end plates when said lid sections areclosed; said hinge means comprising cooperating cam means and binge pinmeans connected to said body and one of said lid sections respectively,said one of said top lid sections being shiftable longitudinally of saidbodyby said cam means and hinge pin means toward said other top lidsection during closing whereby said gasket is horizontally compressiblebetween said end plates, and said clamping means being adapted to permitlongitudinal shifting of said one top lid section while drawing said onetop lid section into said tight sealing engagement.

2. A casket as defined in claim 1 and wherein said cooperating means fordrawing said lid sections into tight sealing engagement with saidsealing means comprises studs mounted on said body and extending abovesaid upper marginal edges, said studs having conical depressions thereinopening toward the front of said body, screw elements threadedly mountedon said lid sections and having conical projecting ends complementary tosaid conical depressions, said screw elements being arranged to advancesaid projecting ends into engagement with said studs and into saiddepressions for drawing said lid sections into said tight sealingengagement.

3. A casket as defined in claim 1 and wherein said cooperating cam meansand hinge pin means comprise hinge members each including a tubular eyeportion having a cam slot defined in the wall thereof, a hinge pinmovable in said eye portion and having a connecting arm extendingtherefrom and through said cam slot for connection with one of said lidsections, said connecting arm being constrained to motion along said camslot, said cam slot being disposed to shift said hinge pin means and thelid section connected thereto longitudinally of said body throughoutopening and closing thereof.

4. In a casket of the type having a body, separate top lid sectionsconnected by hinge means to said body at the rear longitudinal sidethereof and covering when closed the head and foot portions of said body,sealing means extending around the upper marginal edges of said bodyand engageable by said lid sections when closed and cooperating meanscarried by said top lid sections and by said body at the front sidethereof for drawing said lid sections into tight sealing engagement withsaid sealing means; a transverse seal extending between the adjacentends of said lid sections when closed and comprising an end plate on theadjacent end of each of said lid sections and extending transversely ofsaid body, a sealing gasket carried by one of said end plates andlaterally engageable by the other of said end plates when said lidsections are closed; said hinge means comprising cooperating cam meansand hinge pin means connected to said body and both of said lid sectionsrespectively, said cam means and hinge pin means being effective toshift both of said top lid sections longitudinally of said body towardone another throughout the closing movement thereof whereby said gasketis horizontally compressed between said end plates; said cooperatingmeans for drawing said lid sections into tight sealing engagement withsaid sealing means comprising studs mounted on said body and extendingabove said upper marginal edges, said studs having conical depressionstherein opening toward the front of said body, screw elements threadedlymounted on said lid sections and having conical projecting endscomplementary to said conical depressions, said screw elements beingarranged to advance said projecting ends into engagement with said studsand into said depressions for drawing said lid sections toward said bodyand toward each other into said tight sealing engagement with said bodyand with each other.

5. A casket as defined in claim 4 and wherein said cooperating cam meansand hinge pin means comprise hinge members each including a tubular eyeportion hav ing a cam slot defined in the wall thereof, a hinge pinmovable longitudinally and about its own axis in said eye portion andhaving a connecting arm extending therefrom and through said cam slotfor connection with one of said lid sections, said connecting arm beingconstrained to motion along said cam slot, said cam slot being entirelyangularly disposed with respect to said axis to shift said hinge pinmeans and the lid section connected thereto longitudinally of said bodyupon opening and closing movements thereof.

References'Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,046,209 Mercer Dec. 3, 1912 1,090,883 Schott Mar. 24, 1914 1,768,364Lawton June 24, 1930 2,124,763 Clark July 26, 1938 2,284,921 PurkissJune 2, 1942 2,869,216 Overland et a1. Jan. 20, 1959

